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Portland Board committee tests 'fist-to-five' to guide advocacy, lists legislative priorities
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Summary
The newly formed Public & Legislative Committee of the Portland Board of Public Education experimented with a "fist-to-five" consensus tool and reviewed priorities — boundaries engagement, high school planning, transportation, communications and EPS funding work — to shape where it will provide testimony and advocacy.
Chair Sarah Lentz called the Public and Legislative Committee of the Portland Board of Public Education to order on Aug. 11 and introduced a method she said the committee will use to gather nuanced feedback on policy and advocacy priorities.
"So, basically, it's a it's a way to get to consensus," Lentz said, introducing a "fist-to-five" model in which members show one to five fingers to indicate degrees of support for a proposal. She said the tool will be used for informal committee decisions and to shape whether the group should provide testimony on bills and other issues.
The committee tested the tool with a lighthearted proposal that all committee meetings be 15 minutes long; responses varied. Lentz then proposed 90-minute meetings for committee sessions and the group reached consensus on that length during the trial.
Superintendent Ryan Skallon Hehim told the committee he expected legislative discussion around financing for a proposed new high school and said that topic will require both a legislative affairs component and public engagement as planning continues.
Lentz outlined four draft priorities the committee will track: strengthening relationships with city, state and federal elected officials; developing a communications plan to help families advocate; deepening ties with state associations (MSMA and MSBA); and continuing to monitor and provide feedback on the state’s EPS funding formula work and its recent report.
Lentz said the priorities will be refined at future meetings. "We will just see how it works with our agendas as they roll out," she said, adding the committee can revisit the decision-making tool if it does not feel useful.
The committee did not take any formal board votes on policy during the meeting; members used the consensus exercise to prioritize how the committee will allocate time and advocacy resources in the coming months.
The committee adjourned at 08:20 and plans to reconvene at the regular board meeting the following day and again in two weeks for its next committee meeting.
